The hope chest that two Franklin children accidentally locked themselves in, leading to their deaths, may have been recalled more than a decade ago, according to data on the Consumer Product Safety Commission website.

The siblings, identified as Lexi Munroe, 8, and Sean Munroe, 7, were found by family members Sunday night in the Lane hope chest, which had a lid that could only be released from the outside, officials said.

Officials believe the children could have been in the chest for 30 minutes to two hours before they were found by their mother.

In 1996, the Lane Co. recalled 12 million chests with lids that automatically shut when closed, after reports of six children suffocating inside the chests. The company voluntarily offered to install safety locks on cedar chests with latches.

The chests, manufactured between 1912 and 1987, "are often handed down through families, and it is likely that many were purchased second-hand," the CPSC wrote on its website.

Officials said the Munroe family bought the chest second-hand about 13 years ago.

District Attorney Michael Morrissey said investigators had not yet determined when the chest was made and if the Munroe's hope chest was among the models recalled.

The father saw the children at 6 p.m., and when the mother returned home two hours later, she noticed the children were missing. They were found locked in the chest.

"This is a sad and tragic event and our thoughts, prayers and sympathy go out to the family, friends and all those affected," Franklin School Superintendent Maureen Sabolinski wrote in an email to parents.

Family friends said Lexi was charismatic and outgoing and could light up a room with her smile. Her little brother, Sean, was fearless, friends said.